Chapter 16: Healing Potions—Common Grade?

“Ei!”

“Gyaaa!?”

Sena’s sword delivered the finishing blow to the monstrous bear known as the Blood Grizzly. The giant creature crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, shaking the cavern floor beneath it.

“As expected… even though she’s only been an adventurer for less than a month, she can already fight at this level…”

“Better than I anticipated.”

Anii and Shifa exchanged looks of genuine admiration at Sena’s rapid growth.

The Blood Grizzly was considered the first real wall for adventurers venturing into this dungeon. A savage monster that craved human flesh, it possessed a massive frame yet moved with alarming speed—and its raw power was nothing to scoff at.

Normally, defeating such a creature required careful coordination within a party. Yet Sena had nearly single-handedly brought it down. It was almost unbelievable that she had only just recently held a sword for the first time.

As a new member, she had been kept in the shallower areas of the cave for hunting, both to protect her and to help her gain experience safely. But thanks to the gift she carried—the Blessing of the Sword god—her strength had surged, and she was already capable of venturing into deeper, more dangerous territory.

They had delayed the deeper explorations until recently due to a shortage of potions. That problem had finally been solved thanks to Sena’s older brother, Geo, who had begun delivering medicinal herbs to the apothecary every day—ingredients necessary for potion-making.

“Thanks to Geo… I need to properly thank him next time.”

“I already told him! He was grinning like an idiot—it was gross.”

“…Grinning like an idiot?”

Shifa tilted her head slightly, clearly puzzled by the strange onomatopoeia.

“I think Shifa-chan’s Empress’s Majesty helped too, don’t you?”

“I haven’t triggered it strongly this time.”

Empress’s Majesty was a rare gift possessed by Shifa. In simple terms, it could enhance the abilities of allies, including herself, while simultaneously weakening the enemy’s strength.

It required no magical power and activated simply by Shifa recognizing someone as an ally, making it extraordinarily versatile. And, as she said, she could control its strength to some extent.

The more allies nearby, the stronger the effect became, which was why many previous holders of this gift had used it for warfare. For that reason, Shifa only revealed her gift to those she trusted. Though, at her current rank of B-level adventurer, there were few who could harm her even if they knew.

“Wait… I sense something over there.”

Anii’s voice cut through the moment. With her Hunter’s Scent, she could detect the presence of living beings with remarkable sensitivity—a skill invaluable in a dungeon teeming with monsters.

While Shifa and the others assumed battle stances, Anii focused, trying to pinpoint the source of the disturbance.

“The breathing is uneven… weak… It could be a wounded human.”

They hurried toward the location and found a woman, an adventurer, collapsed on the ground and bleeding heavily.

“Haa… haa…”

“I’ll use a healing potion!”

Without hesitation, Anii produced a potion and twisted open the stopper. Meanwhile, Shifa examined the woman’s injuries. When treating external wounds, directly applying the potion to the afflicted area is far more effective.

“…Such terrible injuries…”

Shifa gasped at the sight. The woman’s abdomen was deeply gouged, the bones exposed. Judging by the wounds, it was likely the work of the very Blood Grizzly they had just defeated.

Recalling their encounter, Shifa realized the monster had already been bloodied when they first arrived. It had incapacitated the woman and prepared to feed on her—but the adventurers had intervened just in time, sparing her life for the moment.

Though lucky in the extreme, the woman’s chances of survival with such injuries were slim.

“A regular healing potion won’t be enough… no matter how many I use…”

Anii shook off her hesitation and poured the potion directly onto the wounds.

“Eh… My… my wounds… are healed…?”

“Wow… it’s really true!”

A single potion had nearly erased the horrifying injuries, leaving almost no trace of the damage.

“…?”

The woman, who had been contorting her face in agony just moments before, now blinked in confusion as the pain vanished.

“W-what’s happening? That was just a regular healing potion, right…?”

“…Its effect was clearly that of an advanced potion. No—more than that.”

“But… I paid less for it than a standard potion,” Anii said, exchanging glances with Shifa.

Tears welled in the rescued woman’s eyes as she bowed her head.

“Th-thank you so much! You saved my life!”

“…We only did what was right.”

“But you’re the saviors of my life!”

“F-first, calm down. Just to be safe, drink another one.”

The woman explained that she was a C-rank adventurer. She had ventured into the dungeon with her party but gotten separated and unfortunately encountered the Blood Grizzly alone.

“It was my first time in this dungeon. I panicked when I was attacked by a monster I’d never seen before and ended up scattering from my party…”

She had come to this city on a separate escort mission and, noticing a dungeon nearby, had decided to try her luck.

“Unlike me in the rear guard, I hope the others are fine…”

“Searching the dungeon alone is risky. Believe that your party escaped safely, and return for now. We’ll accompany you.”

“R-really?”

“We were planning to head back soon anyway.”

“Thank you so much!”

Later, outside the dungeon, the woman was reunited safely with her party, who expressed their immense gratitude to Shifa and the others.

“Still… this potion’s effect is abnormal…”

“This one was made from Geo’s herbs, right?”

“There’s no other explanation—it has to be the cause…”